


Aperture

by vanyt525



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bartender Victor, DJ Otabek Altin, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Viktor also owns a bar/club, Viktor is a model, Yuuri is a photographer, bartender!AU, domestic viktuuri, drunk Yuuri is a fun Yuuri, somewhat of a slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-07 09:15:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10357116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanyt525/pseuds/vanyt525
Summary: “Yuuri Katsuki… This is Viktor Nikiforov.” Chris bemuses, smile dark.“Umm, I know… I- I know who he is…” Yuuri says, averting his eyes and taking a sip from the mimosa as he could see Phichit grinning from where he sat.“My bartender friend.”-------In which Yuuri is a famous photographer and Viktor becomes his subject; Or the photographer/model/bartender AU no one asked for.





	1. wine for my real friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yuuri Katsuki… This is Viktor Nikiforov.” Chris bemuses, smile dark.
> 
> “Umm, I know… I- I know who he is…” Yuuri says, averting his eyes and taking a sip from the mimosa as he could see Phichit grinning from where he sat.
> 
> “My bartender friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So bear with me, please?
> 
> I was lurking through my Twitter timeline and saw this [DoodlesOnIce](https://doodlesonice.tumblr.com/post/158513721641/tonights-twitter-dump-is-a-mess-just-like-me) art dump and immediately got inspired to write this trash I have written.
> 
> I'm sorry if this is bad, but I'm sleep deprived and my hand slipped.

The light. Bright and merciless. Goddamn it.

The pain is there. Very present behind his eyelids. And the throbbing on his temple is unforgiving.

Celebrations with Phichit always ended like this. He should know better than to take his invitation to do any sort of celebration on a Friday night if he wants to be able to function throughout the weekend.

He reaches for his night stand, hands feeling and padding their way until he finds his cellphone and pulls it close to his face, he opens his eyes and groans, it’s way past noon. 

He groans into his pillow, he also reeks, so he musters the courage and will to get off the bed and feels a heavy arm wrapped around him and an unfamiliar warmth next to him, so he looks next to him and there’s someone in his bed. He sighs and moves the deadweight off him, sitting down on the bed and stretching his arms over his head, looking over his shoulder – it’s Phichit. Just what exactly happened last night, and why is Phichit in his bed?

His phone goes off with the chime of a bell and he cringes at the loud noise, quickly followed by the loud ringtone of a call. His head pounds and he wants to die.

“Turn it off…” He hears Phichit mutter into the bed as he places a pillow over his head, Yuuri feels around for the phone and why is everything so difficult to do right now? “Turn it off!!!” Phichit yells and Yuuri growls, finding the phone with an ‘aha’ and ignoring the phone call, it was probably his parents anyway, he’ll call them later.

Phichit peeks from under the pillow, “What time is it?” He asks as Yuuri stands up and starts taking his clothes off, walking into the en suite. 

“It’s thirty past noon. Why are you in my apartment, Phichit?” He asks, disappearing into the bathroom and turning the water on as he hears Phichit moving about on the bed.

“You mean you don’t remember last night?” He asks, his voice a bit louder so he could be heard over the water.

“I don’t remember anything past my third glass of wine,” Yuuri winces as the lukewarm water hits his skin, “Is there anything I should be remembering by now?” Yuuri asks, running hands through his hair.

Phichit gets up from the bed and stretches, walking into the en suite and opening the tap water, reaching for the spare toothbrush he’d left in this apartment for times like this, “Look at your forearms before you wash it off,” is all that Phichit says before he starts brushing his teeth.

Yuuri had just doused shampoo on his hands and was washing his hair when he looked down and saw the script on his arm, he squinted his eyes and saw what was written there, shock overcoming him for a bit as shampoo made it’s way to his eye and he screams and Phichit tells him to shut up because he’s being too loud and everything hurts right now.

“P- Ph- Phichit, w- what is this?!” Yuuri yells and turns around to face Phichit, water still falling from his waterfall showerhead, “W-Who wrote this?!” 

“Bartender,” Phichit says as he spits in the sink and rinses his mouth, cleaning the toothbrush and putting back to where it belongs. “Are you done in there? I’d like to go home and shower as well.” Phichit says as Yuuri retreats back into his shower and rinses off.

He steps out of the shower and dries off, gets dressed in jeans and a plain white tee shirt that’s a bit too big for his frame, grabs his cellphone, puts on some black flip flops and leaves the house, taking the elevator two floors down and walking into Phichit’s flat to the smell of fresh cooked breakfast.

“Good morning!” He hears Chris’ voice coming from the kitchen and witnesses as Phichit skips around to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “For all that is holy, please shower. You reek.” Chris muses and plants a brief kiss to the crown of Phichit’s hair and smiles when the Thai man releases him with a pout. “Careful when you go in there, visitor’s in the guest room and the door’s open.” 

“So?” Phichit quirks an eyebrow as he moves into the hallway to go to their room, “Ooh, I see what you mean! Top of the morning to you, sir.” Phichit adds with a mocking tone and he hears a door being shut as he closes the one to the entrance.

“Hey Chris,” Yuuri waves weakly as he goes to the living room and plops down on their sofa, his legs spread and his head lolled to the back to the sofa, eyes closed.

“Good morning, Yuuri-chan! You’ve seen better days.” The Swiss man says as he starts setting the table for four.

“Don’t remind me,” Yuuri cringes and runs a hand through his hair, pushing damp black locks away from his forehead. “What happened last night?” Yuuri asks opening his eyes and everything is still spinning.

“What do you mean?” Chris asks and Yuuri stands up and walks next to him, watching as the bartender opens a bottle of champagne and pours it into the flutes that were half filled with orange juice, offering one to Yuuri, “Here, for your hangover.”

Yuuri cringes, “My arm… Someone left a message saying ‘Will you still love me tomorrow?’…” He asks as he frowns questioningly, tapping his forehead as if trying to force images of last night to come to him, “I don’t remember anything past my third glass of wine.” He takes a sip from the mimosa and hums appreciatively.

“It seriously said that?” Chris asked with a skeptical tone and a scrunch of his nose, “So corny.” He said and nodded at Yuuri, “It was my bartender friend you invited to dance.” He finished as he walked to the dining room and placed a mimosa to each respective plate.

“Your bartender friend whom I invited to dance?” Yuuri asks sitting at the table, mimosa still on hand.

A nod, “You were both pretty hammered by the end of the night, but mostly you. Lucky thing I’m close friends with the owner of the bar or else you would’ve gotten kicked out.” Christophe added and sat down next to him as the door to the guest room could be heard as it was being opened. 

“Another one of those nights, huh?” Yuuri muttered against the glass. “And who’s this _bartender_ friend of yours?”

“Chris, what should I do with this damp towel? …” Yuuri hears the voice coming from the hallway and his eyes turn to see bare pale torso adorned with freckles in patterns that he knew were way too familiar.

Chocolate eyes kept making their way up, up to perfectly sculpted pectorals, shoulders dusted in light and pale freckles, and a jawline that must’ve been chiseled by the gods because this man was perfect. A perfection he was all too familiar with, and suddenly he stopped breathing.

“Oh, Yuuri! Good morning!” Viktor beams from where he stands, his grin, smile far too wide. Far too bright. Blinding almost.

Chris smirks, dark and mischevious. Phichit emerges from the hallway as well.

“Viktor! Good morning!” Phichit chimes as he walks past Viktor and sits next to Chris on the table, seeing the look on Yuuri’s face, moving to Viktor and then back to Chris and Yuuri can see all the equations that are being answered in Phichit’s head. He’s put two and two together, the grin on his face says it all. 

“The man of the hour himself.” Chris barks out and looks at Viktor, “Just hang it to dry in the guest bathroom. Oh, and put a shirt on.” Viktor nods and disappears back into the hallway.

“W- What is…” Yuuri swallows, “What is V-Viktor Niki… Viktor Nikiforov doing here, Chris?” Yuuri asks, his just above a whisper.

“You mean you don’t remember?” Phichit whispers over the table.

“What is there to remember?!” He asks, exasperation present in the way his hands shook and his eyes widened.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” Viktor asks, reappearing from the hallway and sitting next to Yuuri, smiling.

“Yuuri Katsuki… This is Viktor Nikiforov.” Chris bemuses, smile dark.

“Umm, I know… I- I know who he is…” Yuuri says, averting his eyes and taking a sip from the mimosa as he could see Phichit grinning from where he sat.

“My bartender friend.” 

Yuuri chokes on the mimosa as Phichit and Chris are laughing, and Viktor is scurrying around for water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates may not be constant, since I'm getting ready to receive my husband back home after a very very long deployment and it's also cherry blossom season, which means I'll be busy with photoshoots myself.
> 
> But I'll update as soon as I can.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it!


	2. ladies and gentlemen, we're floating in space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “On a Yuuri to Phichit scale… how wild was last night?”
> 
> Phichit turns his face away, index finger tapping his lips and eyebrow quirking up questioningly, “I think it was a Chris.” Yuuri cringes, “Yup, definitely a Chris,” and Yuuri just groans and slides down against the door, “Ooh, Yuuri~ I didn’t mean it that way!”
> 
> \-----------
> 
> The morning after is always the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I solemnly swear that I do not know where I'm going with this AU... but I love it so much!
> 
> This chapter is mostly a flashback to the night before.
> 
> Not beta'd, so I do apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> CW: Minor hints at panic attack.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Note: chapter title is from the name of a song by 'spiritualized', because listening to it was one of my hangover cures, don't ask.

_Yuuri Katsuki was 2 glasses of rosé into this Friday night, when his best friend, who was 4 martinis into the night itself, decided that it would be a good idea to skip this bar and just walk to the club over at the next block._

_The magazine had let them go early today after the shoot they’d been working on for the past month had finally been declared a success. Working for Yakov Feltsman and the Stammi Vicino Magazine definitely had it’s perks – good pay, good location, good opportunities – but was the man a piece of work itself, so in order to release all the bottled up anxiety and stress that this hectic month brought with it, they decided to treat themselves for a night of bar hopping by the riverside._

_So when Phichit’s mentions that it’s Chris’ night shift at the Eros Nightclub and that they can get in VIP, a liquid courage fueled Yuuri decides that this is the best idea that Phichit has had in months, and merrily grabs his best friend’s hand as both of them stumble and dance their way to the club._

_They get to the door, where Otabek Altin is playing bouncer today, “Otabek!” Yuuri sing songs and the Kazakh quirks a questioning eyebrow at him, “This job suits you… but you look much better posing in underwear.” Yuuri teases and Otabek blushes slightly._

_“Katsuki-san.” He sighs and scratches the back of his head and Phichit gasps._

_“Yuuri! Stop, you’re embarrassing him!”_

_“No, I’m not!” Yuuri states, stomping a heel into the ground, “We’re here for the VIP. Chris said he put us down on the list?” Yuuri winks at Otabek and he nods, opening the door and letting them through._

_“Have fun in there,” The younger man says as he ushers them inside, “I’ve got DJ duty in a bit, just waiting for another friend that’s joining the VIP.” He finishes and turns back around, closing the door._

_The thumping of the bass was consistent and thundering on his ears, as his eyes went wide and lit up with a thousand watts. “Oh Phichit, this is amazing!” Yuuri screams over the music and turns to look at his best friend who is grinning gleefully back at him and just gives him an enthusiastic nod, grabbing Yuuri by the hand and leading him astray through the swarm of sweaty bodies to the bar, where with Spartan resolution he pushes people around until they are facing the mop of blonde that is Chris._

_“You’re here!” Chris chimes and pushes himself up against the bar, half his body coming over to peck Phichit’s lips, and quickly move over to Yuuri and repeat the same offense._

_Christophe Giacometti was an unexpected friend. They’d met at Stammi Vicino, he’s one of the top models of the agency, and a complete tease that happens to be dating his best friend. How’d they happen to be a thing is an enigma yet to be solved, but the truth is that they work together, and they’re happy, and that’s all that matters to Yuuri._

_“Ooh, no fight today. Peck reciprocated! This is progress!” Chris exclaims as he pours a glass of wine for Yuuri and a martini for Phichit. “Here you go. Consistency is key. Drinks on the house.” The bartender says with a wink as the two friends cheer with their glasses._

_“To a finished production!” They both cheered, their glasses coming together with a clink and then meeting their lips, the liquid soft and warm down their esophagus._

_“Ugh, I can’t believe that it took us a whole month to finish this concept.” Yuuri groaned, taking a huge sip from the glass, his throat bobbing as he swallowed the mouthful and gave the glass to Christophe, who just refilled it._

_“Working for Mr Feltsman is definitely exhausting,” Phichit muttered playing with the olive on his martini as they heard a melodious laugh coming from the other side of the bar._

_Yuuri quirked an eyebrow, trying to focus his eyes on the source of laughter, but to no avail, a mix of too much wine and his forgotten glasses making him squint at the man that stood next to Chris. “Who’s he?” He leans close to Phichit who just shrugs, taking the last swig out of his drink_

_“Who cares? Let’s dance.” Phichit says and grabs Yuuri by the arm._

_“Wait – Phi – Wait! Let me finish th-“ Yuuri downs the glass all at once and hands it over to Chris, “I want another one to be ready by the time we come back!” He shouts and Chris nods at the disappearing form of Yuuri Katsuki and Phichit Chulanont._

_Chris sighs and puts the glasses on the dish rack behind him, turning around and grabbing another two glasses to replace the dirty ones, placing them on the bar as big, lithe and delicate hands pour into the glasses._

_“Who cares, huh?” The voice that comes back is questioning the statement but there’s a hint of amusement somewhere in it._

_Chris shrugs, “But really, who does?” He asks, earning a pout from the other bartender._

_“Chriiiiis, that’s hurtful.” The bartender lets out a long whine and Chris just laughs. “They think working with Yakov is bad… they should try living with him,” he says as his long fingers cradle the martini glass and he drinks it’s contains, “He’s even worse at home.”_

_“Viktor, that was Phichit’s martini.” Chris tells him, a high arch forming on his eyebrow as Viktor disposed of the glass and brought out a new one._

_Viktor stands tall next to him, black shirt clinging to his torso, long sleeves rolled up a quarter of the way through his arm, black slacks sitting low on his hips, “Sorry,” He smiles sheepishly and pours a new one, this time putting the olive on the rim, “Here.” He offers the glass to Chris with a kiss to his cheek and then turns around, his elbows on the bar, his eyes fixed on the two mops of black hair that are making their way back to the bar._

_“Who’s the other one?” Viktor asks inquisitively, curiosity pooling in the back of his head while heat pools low in his stomach._

_Chris looks at him incredulously, the high arch on his eyebrow still present, “You mean to tell me you don’t remember him?” Chris asks as Viktor turns around, pressing his back to the bar this time, his elbows supporting him as he shrugs, “Yuuri?” Viktor blinks, “Katsuki Yuuri? Photographer?” Still nothing, “Most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen?” Viktor’s eyes widen, eyebrows rising up to his hairline, “Sound familiar now?” Chris asks with a grin._

_“T- That’s him? But… how?” Viktor questions as he turns around and witnesses Phichit dragging Yuuri with him to the bar. “He’s so…”_

_“Different, yes. I know. Drunk Yuuri is a very fun Yuuri.” Chris mutters as the pair keeps getting closer, “This is your chance, Nikiforov. Take it.” A wink and then the green eyes are locked with Phichit’s as he hands him yet another martini. “I’m gonna have to drive you both home.” Chris exclaims over the music._

_Yuuri giggles and reaches for the glass of wine being pushed his way, fingers touching the bartender’s, electricity conduit, shock, chills up and down his spine and he looks up to see icy blue burning holes into honey, “H-Hey!” He adds and Viktor can’t tell if he’s blushing or if its just the flush of the alcohol in his system, but the brown in his eyes is even more beautiful than he remembers, so he takes a deep breath and Yuuri takes his wine and chugs it._

_“Hi.” Viktor adds and now he’s pretty sure he’s blushing as he reaches for the glass that is being handed to him._

_“Your eyes…” Yuuri says, loud enough for him to hear over the music and squints his eyes, inching closer to Viktor, “They’re so beautiful.” Yuuri says and Phichit laughs next to him._

_“Yuuri, you’re horrible at flirting,” His best friend keeps laughing and Yuuri looks next to him, his eyes daggers and his mind a theater playing a million and one scenarios of how Phichit’s death would be taking place at Yuuri’s hand._

_“Whatever.” He mutters and looks at his hands on the bar._

_“Would you like another drink?” Viktor asks and Yuuri nods, shyly, his eyes still on his hands, “Christophe, are you driving them home?” He asks as the blonde nods, “Alright, another rosé coming right up.”_

_“W- Wait!” Yuuri yells and Viktor is frozen in place as Yuuri pushes himself up and comes closer to him, eyes squinting, studying the figure in front of him as he reaches a hand out and touches the silver locks of his hair, “You.” Yuuri mutters as his hand runs down Viktor’s face, it’s soft – he notes – and his fingers trail his jawline and Viktor is just still in time and Yuuri goes back to sitting down by the bar when he hears the host introducing Otabek. “It’s Otabek! Let’s go dance, Phichit!” He grabs his best friend by the hand and drags him to the dance floor._

_Chris looks from Yuuri to Viktor, back to Yuuri and whistles, “Can’t say I saw that coming.” He says and Viktor takes the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding for so long._

_“What just happened?” Viktor asks to himself as Chris just laughs, seeing as Yuuri comes back, running to the bar and Viktor leans over the bar._

_“Katsuki Yuuri?” Viktor questions as Yuuri just quirks an eyebrow and drinks his wine, his breath is erratic and his hair a mess, and Viktor has never seen someone this beautiful._

_“Yes?”_

_And Viktor’s mind goes blank. Completely blank. There’s no words, just none, and the background just becomes white noise as he drinks in everything that is the Yuuri in front of him right now, so carefree, so exuberant, so Yuuri._

_“Viktor?” Yuuri asks in a moment of lucidness. “Viktor Nikiforov?” He asks as the bartender just nods and Yuuri’s grin is widespread on his mouth and he looks almost ethereal all flushed and sweaty and such a mess and it makes Viktor’s chest tight._

_“Hi again.” Viktor says as he takes Yuuri’s glass in his hands._

_“You should come dance!” Yuuri cheers from the other side of the bar, grabbing Viktor’s hand, “Let’s go! What are you doing behind the bar?” He asks and Viktor looks at Christophe who just gives him an encouraging nod, and that’s all the approval he needs before he worms himself out of the bar and into the mass of people in the dance floor with Yuuri leading him._

_He doesn’t know how exactly it all happened, it was too fast, but suddenly he finds himself with Yuuri in front of him, sandwiched in between Phichit and him._

_“Phichit! Look who I found!” Yuuri yells over the music and Phichit’s eyes go wide, shock in his features._

_“Yuuri! This is… Viktor! Viktor Fucking Nikiforov! Where? How? What is happening right now?” Phichit screams and Yuuri just grins at him._

_“He was at the bar with Chris! I told him to come dance a bit, right Viktor?” He asks, the lights of the club reflecting on brown and Viktor’s heart is doing all kinds of strange things and he needs to remember how to breathe, so he just nods and swallows the lump on his throat._

_“Yuuri!” Phichit exclaims and pulls his friend to the side, “Excuse me one second,” Phichit looks at Viktor apologetically and leans in to whisper closer to Yuuri, “Yuuri, how are you functioning right now? That’s Viktor Nikiforov, your childhood crush? You’re supposed to be foaming out the mouth right now.” Phichit asks as Yuuri just turns around and smiles at Viktor. “Yuuri!”_

_“I know, I know. But, but it’s just dancing, Phichit! It’s supposed to be a fun night! To a project declared a success!” Yuuri chirps and turns around and starts dancing with Viktor, leaving a dumbfounded Phichit with little to not words staring at him._

_The Thai man sighs and makes his way to the bar, “You knew about this, didn’t you?” Phichit asks the blonde bartender and is welcomed back with a martini and a smile._

_“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” His tone is low and calculating._

_“Chris.” Phichit breathes as he takes a sip of the martini, “Let’s hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces come tomorrow morning."_

###### 

“Are you alright?” Viktor asks as he hands Yuuri a glass of water.

“I – I’m fine,” Yuuri chokes out as he tries to recompose himself. “I – Can I – M-may I?” Incoherent words just keep tumbling out of his mouth and Phichit sees the cry for help.

“Excuse us a second,” Phichit says as he stands up and motions for Yuuri to join him on a trek to the bathroom.

Yuuri discreetly closes the door to the bathroom and opens the tap, eyes fixed on the water coming out, frown eminent as he keeps trying to force memories from last night to his mind – all futile efforts; he looks up at the mirror, eyes locking with Phichit.

“Just what did I do last night, Phichit?” He questions his best friend who just quirks an eyebrow at him, “No, I do not remember anything, so please enlighten me because I’m at the brink of a full blown panic attack here.”

“Okay, okay, deep breaths, Yuuri, come on.” Phichit rubs a sympathetic hand across Yuuri’s back and it does little to soothe the knot on his throat. “You didn’t do anything terrible last night,” his best friend chimes as Yuuri splashes cold water on his face. “It also wasn’t your best night.” He finishes with a giggle and Yuuri takes a deep breath, turning off the faucet and turning around to reach for a towel, looking up to Phichit from behind the cloth.

“On a Yuuri to Phichit scale… how wild was last night?”

Phichit turns his face away, index finger tapping his lips and eyebrow quirking up questioningly, “I think it was a Chris.” Yuuri cringes, “Yup, definitely a Chris,” and Yuuri just groans and slides down against the door, “Ooh, Yuuri~ I didn’t mean it that way!”

After a couple of minutes the best friends emerge from the bathroom to see Viktor and Chris talking about the upcoming photoshoot starting Monday.

Blue eyes looked away from Chris and locked into Yuuri’s and he just had to force himself to look away from the infinite pool of cerulean that were those eyes, because if he kept on looking, he was most definitely sure, he would drown.

Yuuri took his seat back down, in between Phichit and Viktor’s, “Sorry about that,” He muttered as he reached for the fork, “Hope we didn’t keep you long.”

“Not at all!” Viktor hummed, reaching for his own fork, “Chris and I were just talking about the upcoming projects at the magazine and the art direction I would like to see them take off in.” 

“They’re going to be fabulous!” Chris offered as he took a mouthful of waffles and chewed on them, winking at Yuuri.

The rest of the breakfast went by as uneventful as it could as the events that had transpired minutes earlier, they shared jokes and Yakov stories – ones that Yuuri found ridiculously funny for some reason – but for the most part it was as normal as a breakfast with your childhood crush and the world renown’s bachelor Viktor Nikiforov could go.

Viktor was so much more different than Yuuri had expected him to be. He’d never worked one on one with Viktor before, but he’d always seen him as this Adonis prancing around the editorial, regal airs around him, someone who turned everything he touched into gold, who painted the world in technicolor with his laughter. Don’t get him wrong, he still saw him that way, but this morning… this morning he got to see a side of Viktor he’d never witnessed before.

And damn it, he just keeps falling.

Around three o’ clock rolls around when Viktor takes a look at his watch, “Oh shoot, I have to go walk Makkachin.” He says as he stands up from his spot on the couch, “Thank you for the breakfast, Chris, Phichit.” He says as the pair nod at him, “It was nice to finally meet you, Yuuri,” He added and Yuuri averted his eyes, slight blush dusting his cheeks as he nodded and Viktor turned on his toe to reach for his keys on the coffee table.

“I- I think I’m headed home myself. I’m gonna sleep away this hangover,” Yuuri said, standing up and stretching, stifling a yawn.

“I’ll walk you home?” Viktor chirped from the door, opening it slightly.

“Oh, thanks for the offer… b- but I don’t live far from here.”

Viktor offers a grin, bright as the light that shone through the windows this morning; equally blinding. “I know. I’ll walk you to the elevator?” Viktor persisted and Yuuri smiled, eyes looking down.

“T- Thanks.” He mutters and turns around, “I’ll see you tomorrow for brunch?” Yuuri asks Phichit, who just nod enthusiastically and waves a dismissing hand at him, “Thank you for breakfast, Chris, it was delicious.”

“My pleasure, too bad we didn’t have time for our hangover ritual today. I guess it’ll be another day, another time,” He sighed with a smile and winked at Yuuri, who just blushed furiously.

“Hangover ritual?” Viktor asks with a questioning eyebrow and Yuuri just pushes past the open door before Chris goes off on a tangent. “Yuuri, wait!” Viktor yelps and looks back at Chris, “Bye, Chris! See you Monday! Take today off from the bar, I’ll have Leo cover.”

And with that the door to Phichit and Chris’ apartment was shut as he looks up to see Yuuri lost in thought, scrolling through his phone as he waited by the door and just then Viktor had a figurative lightbulb above the head moment, reaching out for his phone and air dropping his contact information into Yuuri’s phone.

Yuuri received the notification and looks up to Viktor, who is just smiling down at him, “Hope you don’t mind. But I figured since we’re about to start seeing each other more often at work it wouldn’t be too bad to have each other’s contact information.” He quipped as he walked over to the elevator, Yuuri close in step.

“O- Of course.” The door to the elevators dings and both doors open close in sync, as Yuuri gets ready to step into his.

“I had fun!” Viktor muses looking down at the floor and nodding, his eyes moving to Yuuri’s, “I had fun. Thank you.”

Yuuri smiles, and even though it’s a tired smile it reaches his eyes and Viktor’s heart swells and his soul soars, and he swears there’s a heaven somewhere around here and it’s close.

“Me too,” Yuuri half lies, he doesn’t remember half of the things that happened last night, but from the breakfast experience he had this morning – aside from the mild panic attack – he did have fun, “See you around?” He offers Viktor a small wave and receives an enthusiastic nod in return.

“I’ll see you Monday.” Viktor finishes as he disappears into the elevator.

Yuuri presses the PH button on the elevator and reclines against the wall, pensive, a frown deepening as he thinks of Viktor’s words. “See you Monday?” He mutters to himself as he hears the ding of the elevator.

And just like that it clicks, he’s scheduled his first photo project with Viktor for the Memorial Week edition of the magazine.

“Oh shit.”

Touché, Katsuki Yuuri, touché.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter: [@vanyt525](http:twitter.com/vanyt525) where I ramble endlessly about YOI and FFXV.
> 
> Thank you, once more, for reading! See you around!


	3. like stars burning holes right through the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Stop.” Viktor’s voice is soft. A low tremor on his throat as he swallows hard.
> 
> “What?” Yuuri asks as his eyes lock with the screen, the image of a laughing Viktor in all 4096x2304 pixelated glory of the monitor in front of him. 
> 
> \-------------------
> 
> First day at the studio and Yuuri doesn't know what to do with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand they're finally at work!
> 
> Which means awkward interactions and awkward boys with the Viktuuri SS captains lingering right next to them!
> 
> The chapter's name is from Passion Pit's Sleepyhead song.

It’s Monday and before he knows it he’s standing in front of his work station, camera in hand as he fumbled with the speedlight, taking picture after picture, the speedlight sending bright flashes of light throughout the studio, each coming after the loud chime of the remote.

“Yoo-hoo!” He hears the familiar cheerful tone break the cacophony that was the shutter sound, the speedlight and the flash coming from his camera. “I bring goodies,” the same voice comes from in front of him.

A twitch of an eyebrow and his tongue peeking from behind his lips as he goes through the settings on his camera, “Just in time,” He reaches for the cup in front of him with his left hand, his right hand still playing with the camera settings, bringing it to his lips earning a satisfied moan as the scalding hot liquid passes his throat. “You’re a lifesaver,” he mutters as he puts his cup down on the desk. 

“I know, I know,” Phichit muses as he takes a sip from his own cup. “Is this one of the reasons why you keep me around?”

“The only reason why I keep you around,” Yuuri teases as he looks up from the camera with a wide grin and Phichit just pouts at him, “Now go stand on the backdrop and let me work out these settings before the models come in today.” He orders his best friend who does as he is asked and drags a sitting stool to the center of the white backdrop, sitting down on it and sipping away on his coffee cup.

“Make me look pretty,” Phichit chimes with a wink.

“Don’t I always?” Yuuri asks with a chuckle.

Loud beeping noises and blinding flashes kept making their way into the studio, the shutter clicking on and on as Yuuri kept playing with the settings on the camera, lazily pointing at Phichit as he sipped from his cup, sitting on his own stool behind the desk.

“Ask away, Phichit.” Yuuri muttered with a smile, looking up from behind thick glasses.

Phichit answered with his own wicked grin, taking yet another sip from his coffee, sighing with a frown on his face as he looked down at the cup, looking as if he could will it to refill with more coffee, “So? Have you texted him?” Phichit asked, examining his nails, tilting his face to the side and smiling.

“No.”

Phichit frowns and looks at Yuuri, his hands coming down to push on the sitting stool in between his legs, his body leaning forward. “Why not?! Yuuri, you need to take advantage of this, this is your golden ticket!” 

It’s hard for Yuuri to see this as anything more than a collaboration between genius minds, creatives doing just what creatives do, and there’s no reason why he should think of it otherwise, no matter how much Phichit insisted that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it’s not everyday you get to work with Viktor Nikiforov.

“Yuuri,” he starts, relaxing as he looks up at Yuuri, eyes softening and smile ever graceful, “It’s not everyday you get to work with your childhood idol, the man who inspire you to get into photography. I just…” the Thai man smiles fondly, looking at his best friend, “I just want to make sure you’re happy, you know?”

And for all the smiles and crazy ideas, Phichit was just a sap, so Yuuri just smiles, locking his eyes with Phichits and pointing his camera at him, adjusting the speedlight and the snap of the shutter went off with the chime of the speedlight, blinding Phichit as the Thai man cursed at his best friend for ruining the moment as he rubbed his eyes and the older man just laughed unabashedly. 

The Thai man joined him in the laughter, the studio filling in an echoing cacophony of laughter, and Yuuri was ever so thankful that he ran into Phichit during that hot semester of studying abroad in the cramped ballet studio. His everlasting jokes and his warmth, always welcoming and understanding. What would life be without Phichit Chulanont? He thought to himself as he forced himself to take a deep breath, his laughter subsiding.

“What’s so funny?” He hears a voice break into their little haven and their eyes snap to the perpetrator.

“Chris!” Phichit sings as he swings himself off the chair and lunches himself into Chris’ arm with reckless abandon. “Good morning.” He smiles as he pushes himself off his boyfriend.

“Awe, where’s my warm welcome?” He hears another voice coming from behind Chris and he sees Yuuri tense up where he sits.

“Oh? You wear clothes!” Phichit chimes as he gives Viktor an affectionate push to the shoulder. 

“Is he always like this?” Viktor asked to no one in particular as he moved to the desk and placed his sunglasses next to Yuuri’s coffee cup, reaching for said cup and taking a sip from it, “Do you always receive your models like this? With kisses and coffee? If so, I’d like to model for you guys more often.”

Yuuri looks up, a slight pink dusting his cheeks and the top of his ears, “T – That was my c – coffee…” He stutters as Viktor looks from him to the cup, mortification present on his eyes as Phichit and Chris offer a hearty laugh.

“His highness does it again,” Chris offers with a sigh, moving close to Viktor and putting a hand to his shoulder. “Alright! Let’s get this started!” 

Yuuri clears his throat as Phichit joins besides him, “Right,” he looks around, “Phichit, who’s the make-up artist for this project?”

Phichit reaches for the mouse of the desktop, opening the file with the information for the project and reads around, “Hmm… It seems like Babicheva and Popovich.” 

Viktor cringed at the mention of the latter, taking his shoes off and walking to the center of the backdrop, Yuuri tailing behind him and adjusting the reflectors around Viktor as clicks of keys could be heard behind him.

“What are the concepts being put on the table?” Viktor asked as Yuuri fumbled around with the equipment and Phichit walked into the area with another camera, lazily snapping random pictures as blue eyes locked with the figure of Yuuri running around and setting things up.

“We need a spread of you two,” Yuuri spoke from behind one of the strobe lights, adjusting it to shine down on Viktor’s left side, nodding slightly as he moved to the other one to turn it on and move it to shine on his right side. “Phichit, you work with the speedlight, switch mine to a ring light, please.” He said as he moved closer to Viktor.

He stood back and drank in his image for the first time today, from his long pale feet to the navy colored linen joggers that clung to his form, sitting low on his hips to the soft cotton looking gray pullover which sleeves were pooled high up around his forearms. He tilted his head to the side, staring at Viktor’s face, questioningly, as if trying to solve a puzzle as he inched closer to him.

“M- May I?” he asked as he shyly reached forward and Viktor nodded, visibly tensing up and holding a breath as Yuuri can hear his heart beating in his ears, pulse throbbing loudly against his neck and electricity running through his body in the shape of a shiver when his hand finally runs through velvety tresses and pushes them back, looping the bangs behind Viktor’s left ear. “There. Better.” He says, turning around on his toes rather quickly and reaching for the camera and leaving Viktor to his own demise standing in front of the camera men.

“Just headshots today?” Chris asks, not bothering to look up from his mobile device.

Yuuri moves closer to the desk, reaching for the equipment, “Just headshots. I just want to see what kind of lighting works better for you guys on a studio setting. We’ll be meeting with Mr Feltsman on Thursday for more details on the shoot, and then once he narrows down the ideas we start working.” Yuuri looks around the camera bag, eyes roaming as he hears Phichit making idle conversation with Viktor, “Phichit, where’s the fifty millimeter?”

“I have it on this camera, but I left the eighty five and the thirty five there.” 

“Switch, you do close ups, I do portrait. Here.” Yuuri said handing over the 85mm lens to Phichit as Phichit handed him the one that was on his camera.

Viktor stood in the middle of the backdrop, feet fidgeting as his eyes took in the scene, both men exchanging lenses and a random light going off somewhere as he looked up to see Chris playing around with the equipment.

“Sorry?” The Swiss model chimed with a sheepish grin and a wink as Yuuri glared at him, and Viktor couldn’t help but to laugh.

Yuuri turns around and stares at him, wonder filling his brown eyes as he reached for the camera and instantly started snapping pictures at Viktor, lights going off – left, right, both in unison with the ring light on Yuuri’s camera and so fast that it’s hard for the Russian to register that the photoshoot had just started, and he didn’t even know it.

“I’m sorry.” Viktor said, still smiling as Yuuri shuffled around him, “Where do you want me to look?”

“Just…” Yuuri starts looking down at the camera, his fingers playing with the aperture ring, adjusting it accordingly, “Don’t take your eyes off me,” Yuuri says and he can swear that there’s a slight flush on Viktor’s skin as he takes the next picture but he deduces that he’s hot, after all the strobe lights are pointed at him.

After about 2 hours spent in the confines of the studio and countless interruptions on the staff’s part, Yuuri and Phichit wrap things up and pack up their things to head to their office with Viktor and Chris following suit.

With a sigh of relief Phichit settles himself behind the large computer on the desk and powers it on, taking little to no time to insert the memory card with the pictures as Chris sits on the desk next to him, and Viktor stands behind him staring at the monitor with childlike haste in his eyes.

“Coffee anyone?” Yuuri asks and Viktor’s hand shoots up immediately, making him smile. “Milk and sugar?”

“Milk and ice if you have any,” Viktor corrected him and Yuuri nodded, taking a mental note on his idol’s coffee preference with a slight blush.

Yuuri hadn’t really given much thought to this situation, other than it was the end of the month of March, and he had a month and half to spend with Viktor… that’s as much as he could think before his brain went in overdrive and plunged him into the anxiety filled pool that was his Sunday.

If you had told Katsuki Yuuri, five years ago, that he would be working on the same firm as his childhood idol he would’ve laughed at you… If you had told him that he would be working alongside with said idol for a month and a half he would’ve probably cried until he passed out. Yet here he was, making an iced coffee for his childhood idol, and wondering how many more things he would learn in the time to come. He wondered if he’d learn what Viktor’s favorite past time was, or which one of his photoshoots had been his favorites, or what life has been like for him. He wondered just how much of Viktor he could get to know, even though he was on borrowed time.

“So, what are the ideas you’ll be pitching to Yakov on Thursday?” Chris asks to either one of them as Phichit looks up from the monitor.

“As of right now we’re entertaining two ideas,” Phichit started as his eyes moved back to the computer and he opened the raw files from today’s shoot, starting with Viktor’s headshots. “We’re thinking of a glammed up ‘couple’ shoot in Palm Springs.” The Thai man nodded as Viktor’s eyes glue to the screen, his expression unreadable, “Or we can head on to a resort in the Caribbean and shoot there,” Phichit finished as Yuuri walked over with Viktor’s drink in hand, standing next to the tall Russian and handing him the drink.

Lithe fingers cradled a tall glass as he muttered a ‘thanks’ under his breath, but his eyes never left the screen, so Yuuri kept examining that face, trying to look for any clue on what he was feeling at the moment but nothing came, so he turned his eyes back to the screen seeing as it changed from picture to picture with a click of Phichit’s fingers on the mouse and Yuuri has never felt more anxious on his life, his hands clammy and sweaty as he scans Viktor’s face and the it is. His eyes widen and his mouth is agape, and his hand is reaching for Phichit’s shoulder and tightening there.

“Stop.” Viktor’s voice is soft. A low tremor on his throat as he swallows hard.

“What?” Yuuri asks as his eyes lock with the screen, the image of a laughing Viktor in all 4096x2304 pixelated glory of the monitor in front of him. Viktor’s wide grin, his eyes closed and his expression so raw, the joy he was feeling palpable through the image. “O-oh, if… if you do-don’t like it we can d-delete it.” Yuuri stammers and reaches for the mouse.

“NO!” Viktor yells, hand reaching to Yuuri’s wrist and holding it in place. “I mean no, you don’t have to delete the image,” He finishes as he lets go of Yuuri’s hand and takes a sip from his coffee.

“A- Are you s-sure?” Yuuri looks up questioningly.

“Yes… It’s just… this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this.” Viktor says as he looks from the computer to Yuuri, “Is this how you see me, Yuuri?” The Russian asks and Phichit and Chris look at each other with smug smiles plastered on their faces.

“Ah… I- I mean… Ah…” Yuuri can’t think straight, is this really happening right now? Is Viktor Nikiforov really that surprised by Yuuri’s work? Or is he just taken aback and offended that Yuuri had the audacity to capture him in such a candid state?

Phichit looks from Yuuri to Viktor, back to Yuuri and sighs, “Yuuri’s work is unique… Quite remarkable if you were to ask me,” He interrupts them and Viktor looks down at the tanned man sitting in front of him, a silver eyebrow furrowing in question, “His editorial spreads are top notch, but Yuuri’s true skill is capturing the beauty in the mundane… Helping you realize that your life is so much more beautiful than what you’re used to seeing.” He finishes, dark orbs making their way back to the computer screen.

“I- I’m sorry.” Yuuri’s apologize is soft and shy, “I know this was just supposed to be headshots, but I got carried away. I promise I’ll keep it strictly professional next time.” Yuuri finishes as his eyes lock onto the blue of Viktor’s, a deep shade of red accentuating the embarrassment as it posed itself on his cheeks.

Viktor swallows hard, his hand reaching for Yuuri’s, blue eyes searching for answers in pools of hazelnut brown and not being able to find anything but that shyness, a wall that won’t let him just get through, so he sighs, a resigned smile posing on his lips as his hand tightens around Yuuri’s own.

“I’d like to keep the picture, if possible.” He says and Yuuri’s eyes widen in surprise as Viktor lets go of his hand and stares at the computer screen again – his smile is bright, endless… This side of Viktor hasn’t surfaced in years. The childlike wonder had been long gone and replaced by plastic smiles and a media persona, replaced by something Viktor had become, but this, this felt new. He could feel a burst of warmth emotion bubbling in his chest, he could see his world bursting into technicolor right in front of his eyes and he couldn’t tell the exact reason why it was happening, but he’d been thankful that Katsuki Yuuri had been there to capture that moment.

To help him see that life could still surprise him even to this day. 

So he smiled, a thankful smile to Yuuri that was answered with an equally thankful and blinding smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so after tonight's update I may not be able to write as often as stated before, but I'm going to try to squeeze chapter 4 before Sunday which is when my husband gets home.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and for the comments, they're greatly appreciated!
> 
> Find me on twitter: [@vanyt525](http://twitter.com/vanyt525) so we can talk about everything YOI, FFXV and BSD... or just anything at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates may not be constant, since I'm getting ready to receive my husband back home after a very very long deployment and it's also cherry blossom season, which means I'll be busy with photoshoots myself.
> 
> But I'll update as soon as I can. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
